Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#122: Eternals: 500 Year War

Have you wanted things to get a little more marvelous with my spotlights? If so, be glad because we are finally shining the spotlight on Marvel Studios Eternals: The 500 Years War.

Summary

Taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we travel hundreds of years in the past to Earth's first mightiest heroes. Sent by the Celestials themselves, the demigod-like beings called the Eternals have watched over Earth for millennia to protect it from evil monsters called Deviants. This is only part of their eons-long history, in their lifelong war against those violent monsters.

Characters

Sersi: the kind-hearted matter manipulator.

Ikaris: The powerful but stoic Superman-esque figure of the Eternals.

Gilgamesh: The gentle giant.

Kingo: The egotistic hotshot with energy beams.

Sprite: The youngest looking of the Eternals, Sprite is a mischievous illusionist with an energetic spirit.

Makkari: The mute but cocky speedster.

Thena: The confident warrior with the ability to summon cosmic weapons.

Druig: Makkari's partner in crime, his mental manipulation powers make him an amoral person.

Phastos: The genius of the Eternals, Phastos is arguably the most interested in human affairs.

Ajak: She serves as the spiritual/emotional leader of the group.

Overview

First might as well get my opinions of the main film out of the way, just in case you ask. Hearing this comic surprised me, given from my experience that Eternals was a very divisive movie. However, I think it's a good movie I don't want to revisit anytime soon. It has my respect for being different, expanding the MCU's cosmology, and being far more morally grey than its peers. However, at the same time, I feel like the genuinely interesting Deviant villain got wasted. It's a little too long, and obviously, having like ten main characters make the entire cast feel bloated.

Secondly might as well explain my thoughts on tie-in material since it's the first I've experienced. For me is a bit of a double-edged sword. Mainly because I think it comes down to how much the side material and main material rely on each other as a crutch. I've seen main series try to purposefully withhold information to make their side material essential to understand the full story. On the other end of the spectrum, though, because of the main series being more popular, any event taking alongside it or before it is chained to main story, serving as limitations, like a punchline you can see coming from a mile away.

While exceptions to the rule depend on the quality or scale the stories are trapped in, it's still a barrier or entry I see a lot. Being only seven chapters long, Eternals is more of an introduction to movie characters, highlighting small bits of their personalities, powers, and purpose, so you don't need to watch the movie to enjoy it.

Barring only one character getting a little more personality, this doesn't do much to develop the Eternals. And with the length of the stories, it kind of leaves you to enjoy the basic concept more than the characters. However, the art is consistently awesome superhero action while maintaining the movie's overall aesthetic. And it's honestly just really cool to see how both the Deviants and Eternals interact with various cultures and mythologies worldwide. Combine that with the commentary on the multiple centuries these stories take place in, and I think this is a solid outing.

Epilogue

Overall this is an alright webcomic I recommend for only hardcore MCU fans. However, in my reviews of Batman Family Adventures and Caster, I've said that having more comic collaborations with Webtoon is something I would like to see more of. And while this isn't offensive, I will praise more creative future endeavors. So let's turn the spotlight towards someone else until that next comic collab happens.